Why this ride
190 km from Turin to Turin, about 3 h 23 of riding. It goes by way of Castello di Racconigi, Castello di Pollenzo, Castello di Govone and back through Castello di Pollenzo.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Castello del Valentino and Castello di Govone
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 190 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 23
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Castello del Valentino
The Castello del Valentino stands on the left bank of the Po in the middle of Turin, in a park where students lie about on the grass and rowing crews slide past on the river. It looks like a French château, with pitched grey roofs, corner towers and a courtyard open to the water, and that is no accident. It was built for the dukes of Savoy and transformed in the seventeenth century by Christine of France, widow of Duke Victor Amadeus I, who wanted something of home in her adopted capital. Later it became a school of engineering and then a faculty of architecture, which gives the courtyard a pleasant, slightly scruffy academic life.
Read the complete Castello del Valentino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello del Valentino is where the day begins. Next is Castello di Racconigi.
2. Castello di Racconigi
Racconigi is a small town on the plain south of Turin, in Piedmont, surrounded by fields of maize and rice and lines of poplars. It is dominated by its castle, a grand residence of the House of Savoy, which ruled Piedmont and later Italy. Originally a medieval fortress, it was transformed over the centuries into a palace, with Baroque and neoclassical façades, and surrounded by a vast park with lakes, woods and a farm. The castle is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, inscribed in 1997.
Read the complete Castello di Racconigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Racconigi comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello di Pollenzo.
3. Castello di Pollenzo
The village of Pollenzo was a Roman town, Pollentia, long before it was a Savoy estate, and in 402 a Roman army under Stilicho fought Alaric's Visigoths nearby in one of the last great battles of the Western Empire. Today the name means food. The castle and the neo-Gothic agricultural complex built around it by King Carlo Alberto in the nineteenth century, the Agenzia, now house the University of Gastronomic Sciences, founded by the Slow Food movement, which was born in nearby Bra. The estate is part of the UNESCO-listed Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.
Read the complete Castello di Pollenzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Castello di Pollenzo. Next is Castello di Govone.
4. Castello di Govone
Govone is a village of eight hundred people in the Roero, the hilly country on the left bank of the Tanaro across from the Langhe, and it is dominated by a palace far too grand for its size. The Castello di Govone was a residence of the House of Savoy, rebuilt in the baroque style in the eighteenth century, and it is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside are rooms decorated with Chinese wallpaper, and outside, terraced gardens look down over the valley.
Read the complete Castello di Govone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello di Govone, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Pollenzo.
5. back through Castello di Pollenzo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Pollenzo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castello di Pollenzo sits at 131 km, about halfway. Next is back through Castello di Racconigi.
6. back through Castello di Racconigi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello di Racconigi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Castello di Racconigi comes up about 153 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castello del Valentino.
7. Castello del Valentino
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Castello del Valentino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castello del Valentino closes the day.
Leg by leg
Castello del Valentino to Castello di Racconigi
Castello del Valentino → Castello di Racconigi is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Racconigi to Castello di Pollenzo
Castello di Racconigi → Castello di Pollenzo is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Pollenzo to Castello di Govone
Castello di Pollenzo → Castello di Govone is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castello di Govone to back through Castello di Pollenzo
Castello di Govone → back through Castello di Pollenzo is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Pollenzo to back through Castello di Racconigi
back through Castello di Pollenzo → back through Castello di Racconigi is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castello di Racconigi to Castello del Valentino
back through Castello di Racconigi → Castello del Valentino is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.